Ryu

I went with Koy to a coastal town to meet Ryu, a musician that she used to play with. Ryu was born the 22nd direct descendant of a temple founding monk. He was raised and expected to inherit his birthright, a 500-year-old temple in Uozu, but rebelled when he found rock and roll as a young man. As a teen, he was very involved in starting the 80’s Toyama rockabilly scene.

Teaching himself to play guitar, he renounced his temple birthright, ran off to New York City for a few years where he started his tattoo collection. Upon returning to Tokyo, he headed the rock and roll trio Screaming Jets and worked with Koy where she sang his beautiful Japanese lyrics. Shortly after opening his own chic bar/eatery in Roppongi his father died, followed by his mother less than a year later. He made the difficult decision to close down the restaurant and return to the temple. Now with his monk’s robes hiding his tattooed body as make up and band-aids attempt to cover his face and hand tattoos, he goes about his daily Buddhist routines as well as writing expansively regarding Buddhism on a daily basis and playing guitar in the temple in the evenings